


Imperium

by Coffin Liqueur (HP_Lovecats)



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Playing video games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23844544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HP_Lovecats/pseuds/Coffin%20Liqueur
Summary: She had to laugh.It had been so,sodifficult to convince Cullen to tear himself away from his office to join her for a round of gaming - and look at him now…!
Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8
Collections: Minigame: Round 1





	Imperium

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CorinaLannister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorinaLannister/gifts).



She had to laugh.

It had been so,  _ so  _ difficult to convince Cullen to tear himself away from his office - and look at him  _ now…! _

Today, at last, he’d hemmed and hawed and stiffly, guiltily muttered that he would see what he can do but that he  _ did  _ have a few calls to make, and that Cassandra would probably be angry if he didn’t respond to her last message in a timely enough fashion, and that he should probably check in with his team - making sure they hadn’t run into any hurdles acquiring -

“As the head of your organization, I give you permission to take a break,” she’d reminded him with a warmly-teasing smirk.

She, the head of the Inquisition and the one between them who practically made it a  _ point  _ to get at least thirty minutes in of  _ Imperium _ a day.

He’d seemed to understand that, looking down where she sat on the couch, one leg crossed over the other with the controller in her lap, still smirking.

‘Cause he’d swallowed like he’d had something hard in his mouth before he’d commenced pacing. “I -- ...all right,” he’d said, sweepily, giving a scratch at the back of his head, “I suppose I’ll… join you this time,” and she’d given the cushion next to her a gentle pat.

And yet he’d still sheepishly asked her, after she’d passed him their second controller (which typically saw use by Varric, or Dorian, or Sera, or Bull) and she’d set up a two-player competitive round, how long the game would take, and if it was especially difficult to learn…

They had been playing for two hours now.

And Cullen had his eyes locked on the screen in joyful determination, teeth grit for focus - the sharpness of his finger movements pressed the buttons and maneuvered the joystick with hard clicks, as he gave off sticky mutters of “wait - !” or “oh, no - there…!” or the occasional wincing, whispering “ _ damn…! _ ” to make every move and second count as he moved troops across the playing field and units to every resource that opened up on the dime.

It was a good thing she wasn’t a particularly sore loser, she supposed, and yet she also supposed that she wasn’t doing herself any favors with how hard it was to take her eyes off of him.

Leaned back, her smirk having hardly ever left, a couple more lazy sways of a joystick sent her dragon to attack one of his spires.

And he chuckled with something that sounded, from him, almost like bravado.

“Oh,  _ no _ , you don’t,” he said, eyes narrowing and shoulders squaring. He held the controller like he was trying to crush it in his hands. His movements turned blinding.

On the screen, her dragon gave a cry, turned in the air, and dropped, disappearing behind its own wings, having gone down to a unit of highly-upgraded archers she had truly forgotten Cullen had had in reserve. The spire was at half-health.

_ “Yes!” _ he simmered, rocking back as if from recoil with his fist pulled up in the air.

She had to laugh, and so she did.

An open, bright giggle.

He was in on the joke, at least - immediately, his smile turned abashed, almost flinching into a single high, soft little laugh in return.

He blinked slowly, reclining just a tad, himself.

“What…?” he asked.

Certain heart and brightness to it.

Still fringed with that sheepish little laugh.

“Ohhhh, nothing,” she said, readily, likewise still riding brightness and air.

The corner of her mouth twisted further upward slightly.

“I like seeing this side of you, is all.”

Ahh, what a  _ pure  _ way to…

...see him  _ enjoy _ the feeling of something being accomplished.


End file.
